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God's Plan Fulfilled – Matthew 2
God's Plan Fulfilled – Matthew 2
God purposed, planned, orchestrated, and fulfilled (see study at end of article) the means of saving us from our sins. This is abundantly displayed in the coming of Jesus the Son of God as recorded in the second chapter of Matthew.
God caused the star to appear that guided the magi from the East to the very house where Jesus lay as a baby. Along the way God let men like Herod ‘do their own thing’. This is not a free pass for Herod (and all of us) will be brought to justice for the things that we do.
God’s purpose was not to be undone by the likes of Herod. God warned the magi concerning Herod’s real intent. God warned Joseph of the coming slaughter of the babies so that Jesus escaped. God provided a place of protection in Egypt for Jesus. God instructs Joseph to return but then further instructs him to take Jesus to the district of Galilee.
God’s plan can be seen in Matthew with the various episodes of Israel and God in the Old Testament. The story of the mothers of Israel bewailing the death and enslavement of their children during Jeremiah’s day is itself a recapitulation of Israel’s history. Rachel’s original story was contained in the book of Genesis. Now Matthew picks up Jeremiah’s use and applies it yet again to depict the trouble of Jewish mothers.
As God took Israel into Egypt to protect, nourish, and bring them to be a nation of people, so now God takes the Savior of Israel into Egypt and brings Him back safely.
As Matthew concludes this chapter, he shows that the choice of returning to Nazareth was also a matter of God’s purpose and plan. Some explains this as a play on Hebrew words where the Hebrew word ‘Nezer’ [meaning branch] shows that Jesus is the promised branch of the ‘tree of David’. This would then connect with the story line of being the offspring of David in chapter one.
Another understanding of this was proposed clear back in the early centuries of the church when it was explained that to be called a ‘Nazarene’ was a first century figure of speech about equivalent to our calling someone a ‘hick’ or ‘backwoodsman’. Nazareth was one of the lowly villages in the northern area of Galilee. It was about as far from Jerusalem both physically and culturally as a Jew could live.
What we see in this chapter is that God is in control even when things appear to would argue otherwise. There are evil deeds, evil men, and tough times for people living in this world. Through all of these, God is bringing about His plan of saving men from their sins. I stand in amazement at God’s ability to allow men their freedom of choice [including the choice to do evil] and yet to use those very choices to fulfill HIS purpose. I stand in awe of God’s knowledge that He could foretell such fulfilling of His purpose centuries before the events come to pass.
Let those of us who suffer according to God’s will learn to entrust our souls to our faithful Creator, while we continue to do that which is good and right [cp. 1Peter 4:19].
Hugh DeLong
For further study, note Matthews use of the term ‘fulfill’ produced in Logos bible program:
fulfill
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 16 results in 16 verses |
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| Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
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| He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
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| Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
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| and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
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| But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.
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| This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
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| “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
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| “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
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| This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”
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| This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
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| “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
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| This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
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| This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
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| “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
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| “But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.
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| Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel;
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Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 6:57 AM January 31, 2019.
